Websites Selling Child Sex Abuse Doubled in 2025, Watchdog Says

Online trade in child sexual abuse an 'industry' as number of websites double

Around 16% of the sites – 2,458 – were disguised to look as if they host legitimate content or appear inactive, but have a hidden way for paedophiles to access the material

Number of websites selling child abuse images double in 12 months

The minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls said “we will not allow criminal gangs to profit from children’s unimaginable suffering”

Websites Selling Child Sex Abuse Doubled in 2025, Watchdog Says

The number of websites illegally selling access to child sex abuse images more than doubled last year, according to new research from the UK authority responsible for finding and removing such material from the internet.

Number of websites selling child abuse images doubled last year

In its annual report, the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said that it found 15,031 such sites in 2025, compared with 7,028 the previous year.

Websites Selling Child Sex Abuse Doubled in 2025: UK Regulator

Many of the violating websites were disguised, initially showing legal content but revealing the abuse material when accessed a certain way, according to the report.